This disc is a sonically advanced tribute to the late, iconoclastic writer William S. Burroughs. In 1989, Bill Laswell and his group Material constructed Seven Souls, a musical soundscape accompanied by Burroughs's distinc... more &raquotive voice and his surreal musings on mortality and isolation. Remixed here by Laswell and four contemporary DJ-producers, Burroughs's own words are imaginatively recontextualized into a moving electronic elegy to the vastly influential author. Expounding on the ancient Egyptian mythology of death, Burroughs is contorted under the reverential guidance of Laswell and aural technicians Talvin Singh, Spring Hill Jack, DJ Olive, and DJ Soul Slinger. By updating Material's original dub-funk-jazz fusion with studio advancements of the '90s, we are presented with a work that combines spoken word, invigorating instrumentals, and modern electronica. --Mitch Myers&laquo less

Synopsis

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This disc is a sonically advanced tribute to the late, iconoclastic writer William S. Burroughs. In 1989, Bill Laswell and his group Material constructed Seven Souls, a musical soundscape accompanied by Burroughs's distinctive voice and his surreal musings on mortality and isolation. Remixed here by Laswell and four contemporary DJ-producers, Burroughs's own words are imaginatively recontextualized into a moving electronic elegy to the vastly influential author. Expounding on the ancient Egyptian mythology of death, Burroughs is contorted under the reverential guidance of Laswell and aural technicians Talvin Singh, Spring Hill Jack, DJ Olive, and DJ Soul Slinger. By updating Material's original dub-funk-jazz fusion with studio advancements of the '90s, we are presented with a work that combines spoken word, invigorating instrumentals, and modern electronica. --Mitch Myers

CD Reviews

The Sins of the Father...

05/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Seven remixes of material from the album "Seven Souls," put out a few years back and featuring William S. Burroughs's distinctive voice reading from his novel "The Western Lands." This album stands up better to repeat listening than its predecessor, focusing less on the content of his words than on its sonic effects, only occasionally surfacing into meaning. Talvin Singh, Bill Laswell, and DJ Olive all contibuted to this small monument to the legendary writer. Dancy at times, dubby at others, these mixes will poke at your brain and spine like live wires and leave you wanting more."